102 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



Order ANSERES.— the Lamellirostral Swimmers. 



Chaeacteks. Lamellirostral swimming birds, with straight hills, short lees (.ilways 

 shorter than the wing), the tibia:' usually completely teatherefj. and scarcely free from the 

 body; hallux well developed, though usually small, neverabsent, Reproduction prnjcocial. 

 and young ptilopaidic; eggs numerous and unmaiked, with a hard, usually very smooth, 

 shell. 



Bill flattened terminally, and provided at the tip with a more or less hooked nail or 

 "unguis", and along the edges with distinct vertical lamella; or strainers (more tooth-like 

 in the subfamily Merginm). 



The Order Anseres is composed mainly of a single family {Anat- 

 idcB) ,'^ vi\Ach, however, includes very numerous genera and species. 

 The order is represented in every portion of the globe, but mo.'tt 

 numerously in the northern hemisphere. It is allied most nearly 

 to the orders Ph^a^ni/Mpteri (Flamingoes) and Palnmcdcre 

 (Screamers), the former Tropicopolitan, the latter confined to 

 the central portion of the Neotropical Region. 



'Extralimital families are (1) AnKeranttdo' (Semipalmatod Geese), and (2) Cereopsi :(s 

 {Capo Barren Geese), botli peculiar to Australia. 



